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Are people the best judge of whether or not their job is bullshit? Doubtful. Some people might complain about all the data they need to analyze and forms to f
by refurb 3y ago
Are people the best judge of whether or not their job is bullshit? Doubtful.
Some people might complain about all the data they need to analyze and forms to fill out and say "my job is bullshit", but it's all needed for compliance with some industry regulations (that HN seems to love so much).
Is that a bullshit job? I'd say no, even if the person doing the work thinks so.
- pydry 3y agoThe thing is if you look at the results and assume at least 20% of people do this then theyre still bad. Moreover, I think most people have a better idea of how bullshit their job is than an outside observer. Theyre doing it.
- zosima 3y agoBut the industry regulation may be what is bullshit. The job can be still bullshit, even though it serves a purpose for a specific company in a specific environment. Corporate lawyer is the archetypal graeberian bullshit job.
- refurb 3y agoCorporate lawyer is bullshit? I'd say legal representation is a really important. His definition of bullshit seems to have no resemblance to what people would think of bullshit jobs.
- kqr 3y agoThe argument is that corporate lawyers exist (mainly) to satisfy a demand generated by their own profession. Any such profession is a category of bullshit job in the book, whether or not you personally think corporate lawyers produce value to the world.
- realjhol 3y ago> The argument is that corporate lawyers exist (mainly) to satisfy a demand generated by their own profession. That would apply to any profession which involves competing in a zero sum game. Zero-sum games exist, therefore these professions exist to enable players to win them
- dekleinewolf 3y agoYes, that is probably true indeed. That's why there are so many bullshit jobs. I could never work in a zero-sum environment.
- refurb 3y agoThat's kind of a circular argument. The demand generated by their own profession is due to the laws on the books. One corporate lawyer can't sue another unless the system lets them. So the job isn't bullshit as long as those laws exist. The whole idea of "bullshit jobs" seems to focus on the job, not the environment that produces them.
- myshpa 3y agoIf the system is set up to employ an army of people solely for the purpose of complying with some meaningless regulation, then that army of people (and those who support them) are all examples of bullshit jobs.
- zeroonetwothree 3y agoHN loves constantly adding more and more regulations. Of course this is the end result.
- pastacacioepepe 3y ago> Are people the best judge of whether or not their job is bullshit? Doubtful. Who is it then?
- refurb 3y agoI'd say companies have zero incentive to spend money on a job that is doesn't need to be done. So I'd say if there is company X will to spend $Y on a job, then by definition it's not a bullshit job.
- medvezhenok 3y agoCompanies, sure. But companies don't spend money - people working at them do. And people working there can have incentives that don't align with the companies incentives.
- refurb 3y agoNot sure what company you worked for, but I can't spend money unless it's approved by the company.
- rwmj 3y agoThere's a kind of Prisoner's Dilemma here. Sure, set up your company that doesn't have corporate lawyers. It'll work for a while until it very suddenly doesn't. The only way to break out of this is better regulation across industries, but governments also don't always have the right incentives either.